Neiman Marcus Beauty “Face Off” Event

A half-circle of professional and utterly fabulous make-up artists surrounded me as polished, sophisticated women in black designer clothes and glossy pumps rushed about, barking orders and making announcements, setting up for the festivities to come. It was the annual “Beauty Face-off” at the Neiman Marcus store at Scottsdale Fashion Square on Saturday, September 20.

This was an event that involved makeup artists from several high-end makeup brands, and they were required to create the best “fall face” in 20 minutes on a random client. The additional obstacle in this year’s challenge was that the artists were required to involve shimmerin the look to represent fall’s latest trends.

Once the timer started the artists bustled about, creating their masterpieces while the judge walked around studying the technique of each artist. There were vast differences in the appearance of each client with looks ranging from plum smokey-eyes to natural and fresh-faced. The announcer and manager at Neiman Marcus announced the remaining time every five minutes, and it was amazing to me how not one artist changed pace throughout the duration of the challenge. They remained utterly calm and collected as they worked, showing sheer sophistication and professionalism.

At the 20 minute mark, the artists dropped their brushes and stepped back to admire their work. The judge took one more lap around, studying every technique and color palette. Then, after she thanked all participants, expressing how impressed she was with each and every artist, she ultimately chose Tom Ford for the best fall face of the season. The winning look involved heavy, light-bronze eyelids lined with thick, black eyeliner, defined cheeks and sheer lips. The client and artist received photos with the judge and flowers. Overall, it was a lovely and exciting experience.